Tresnie earns berth at state tourney

Marine Tresnie, Sisters' senior foreign exchange student from Belgium, won her match in the quarterfinals at the Special District 3 championships on Thursday and Friday, May 13-14, at Black Butte Ranch. The quarterfinal win earned her a berth at the state tournament at the University of Oregon, May 20-22.

Tresnie won all three of her matches on Thursday. She beat Madeline Balderson of Marist 6-0, 6-2 in her first match of the day and went on to defeat Shalee Montez (No. 6 seed) of Junction City 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). Montez was able to slow the game down, and it took Tresnie a while to adjust her play. She did just that and attacked with power shots that earned her points.

In the quarterfinals, Tresnie defeated Kylee Woodman (No. 3 seed) of North Bend 6-3, 6-3.

"Marine played excellent in all three matches," said Coach Marti Dale. "She wanted to go to state and had a winning attitude. She was in fine form and attacked with aggressiveness and played like a very experienced player."

On Friday, Tresnie earned a 6-1 victory in the first set against Tate Wiley of Junction City (No. 2 seed) in the semi-finals. From there Marine became fatigued and began to experience pain in her shoulder. Tresnie lost the second and third sets, 6-1, 6-2.

Marine won her last match of the tournament, which earned her a third-place finish. Tresnie defeated Haley Marsh (No. 5 seed) of Marist 6-1, 6-2.

"Marine had lost to Marsh earlier in the season in a heartbreaking loss. She had a lot of time to think about that and she was determined to win," said Dale. "Marine stayed in control and played the ball until she was able to set it up and put it away with a power shot. Marsh had a hard time and then started to make mistakes, hit the ball into the net and double faulted."

Dale told The Nugget that Tresnie was thrilled with her third-place finish and the chance to go to state.

"Marine not only played well but her level of play was exciting and wonderful to watch," said Dale. "She exhibited great sportsmanship and attitude and represented Sisters well."

Shelby Thompson and Paige Tosello (No. 4 doubles) also played well and made it to the semifinals in the consolation round.

Thompson and Tosello lost their first match 6-0, 6-1 to Michele Elliot and Brittney Burr of Marist.

The loss put Thompson and Tosello in consolation play. The duo beat Richardson and Nance of Hidden Valley in the first round with a score of 8-0. Shelby had very good, solid, consistent serves which helped notch the win.

In the quarterfinals of consolation, Thompson and Tosello defeated Kwok and Troy of Hidden Valley 8-2. Both players served strong and were on target with their baseline shots.

The duo lost to Duvall and Downer of Marist 8-0 in the semifinal consolation.

Dale said, "The girls were very consistent in their first two matches in consolation. It was hard for thier opponents to sustain and they ended up making mistakes which worked to Shelby and Paige's advantage."

Dale told The Nugget the tournament at Black Butte Ranch went off without a hitch.

"The district tournament went so smoothly," said Dale. "The athletes had fun and the Ranch and their management made an excellent venue for hospitality and accommodating the tournament. In fact, the coaches loved it so much, they voted and decided districts will be at Black Butte again next year."

Dale also noted how pleased she's been with her team the entire year.

"Overall, the team made huge improvements over the course of the season," said Dale. "This is just a great team. They have a lot of spirit, they have good sportsmanship, they're coachable and they are all-around athletes. It was fun and a joy to watch them from beginning to end, and at districts the level of play stepped up as always. If these girls continue to play I expect them to come back even stronger and make it to the semi-finals at district next year."